Getting a cancer diagnosis can be shocking to say the least. One of the best ways hypnosis can assist in your cancer journey is to help you change your focus from fear to survival and finally thriving. Fear produces negative chemicals in the body like cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline (also known as the “fight or flight response”). Fight or flight has benefits when you are trying to escape a grizzly bear or a robber. However, changes like rapid heart beat, increased blood pressure and body tension are not beneficial in coping with cancer.
Hypnosis helps you calm your body by calming your mind. A calm mind can help you think logically and put a survival plan together.
There are lots of ways to calm the mind. I tend to work with cancer clients similarly to anxiety clients. Cancer creates its own set of anxiety, so step one is to be able to envision a healthy future. Being able to find a place in time in your life in which you felt particularly healthy or strong is good, as is being able to imagine what it would be like to live inside the body of someone you admire who has very healthy habits.
Finding your safe or happy place can allow you to anchor your mind to focus on getting healthy again. I help you find a word, color and time or place that you associate with feeling safe or happy. Then we anchor those triggers so you can use them instantly if a fear-producing situation arises, like having your first PET scan or radiation treatment.
Once you have fear under control, we can begin to develop a plan and work on eliminating root causes.
If you or someone you know is dealing with cancer, hypnosis can help. Please feel free to reach out to me at kathymoorehypnosis.com. My office is located in south San Antonio, but I also do sessions via Zoom. Here’s to great health for you and yours in 2023!